PM Orbán: Hungary will help Romania protect its eastern border

“Sooner or later an effective border seal will be needed on [Romania’s] eastern borders, otherwise Romania will be overwhelmed by migrants and we Hungarians would then have to build a fence on the Romanian border. We certainly want to avoid that, and if it comes to it we will gladly help Romania protect its eastern borders,” PM Orbán said

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said he'd rather help Romania protect its eastern border against migration than build a fence on the Hungarian-Romanian border.

“Sooner or later an effective border seal will be needed on [Romania’s] eastern borders, otherwise Romania will be overwhelmed by migrants and we Hungarians would then have to build a fence on the Romanian border. We certainly want to avoid that, and if it comes to it we will gladly help Romania protect its eastern borders,” PM Orbán said.

During an interview with Hungarian-language daily Bihari Napló, the prime minister said he had high hopes for the Orthodox church and the Romanian political leadership and trusts that they also believe Romania’s future and its Christian future are at stake. Romania and Hungary can have a successful cooperation on this basis in the years ahead, PM Orbán said.

The prime minister added that he expects “central Europe’s great decades” to be starting now. “Poles, Czechs, Hungarians and Slovaks will certainly score serious successes together and I could even add the Slovenes. We’ll need to settle certain issues with the Croats at first. The Serbs clearly want to join in the central European success story. It is obvious that ethnic Hungarians in Romania have a place in this upswing,” PM Orbán said.

“It is up to Romanians to decide whether they can join the central European success story in cooperation with Hungarians, launching joint economic projects and setting common goals," he added.

“We could find a form of cooperation under the arrangements of V4 plus Romania which would eventually result in higher living standards, greater security and better perspectives also for Romanians in Romania,” PM Orbán said.